Renal cell cancer (or renal cell carcinoma) is the most common type of kidney cancer. It is a life-threatening tumor, which is an abnormal growth of cells.
Your kidneys are located on each side of your spine just above your waist. They make urine by filtering waste products from your blood, control the balance of salt and water in your body, and help regulate your blood pressure.
The cause of this disease is not known. It occurs mostly in adults who are 50 to 79 years old. You are more at risk for kidney cancer if you:
Symptoms vary, depending on how advanced the tumor is when it is found. Symptoms can include:
Some other, more general symptoms can include:
Kidney cancer may be difficult to diagnose. Many kidney tumors are found when x-rays are taken for other reasons.
Your health care provider will ask about your symptoms and examine you. The tumor is felt during an abdominal exam only 20% of the time. For this reason, tests to view the kidney and tests of its function are done. These tests may include:
To look for possible spread of kidney cancer, other studies may include a chest x-ray.
The treatment for renal cell cancer depends on how large the tumor is, whether the tumor has spread to other parts of the body, and your general health.
Surgery to remove the kidney is usually done to treat renal cell cancer. If the cancer has not spread to nearby lymph nodes or other tissues, the long-term survival rates are good. Most people can live with just 1 kidney if the other is removed. With dialysis, you can live without both kidneys. If the disease has spread to other organs, surgery is not as likely to be helpful.
Your health care provider may also do a renal artery embolization, in which the blood flow through the artery that leads to the affected kidney is blocked. This decreases blood flow to the cancer. The tumor may become smaller then and may be easier to remove.
If the doctor removes all the cancer that can be seen at the time of the surgery, you will probably not be given chemotherapy or radiation therapy.
Another possible treatment is immunotherapy, which helps your body's own defenses to fight the cancer.
The chances of cure vary, depending on how large the tumor is, whether it affects the surrounding tissue, and whether it has spread to other parts of the body.
Most of the symptoms of renal cell cancer occur when the cancer is fairly advanced. Because the chance for cure depends on finding the disease early, it is important to have regular medical checkups. It is also important to report symptoms such as blood in the urine or abdominal pain to your health care provider as soon as possible.
After treatment your provider will recommend regular checkups to see if the cancer has returned or spread. It is important to follow your provider's recommendations so that any recurrence can be found early. It is possible to have recurrences many years after removal of the cancer. In rare cases, similar cancer may appear in the other kidney.
Limit or prevent, if possible, your exposure to cigarette smoke, asbestos, and cadmium, which are associated with increased risk for this disease.
Disclaimer: This content is reviewed periodically and is subject to change as new health information becomes available. The information provided is intended to be informative and educational and is not a replacement for professional medical evaluation, advice, diagnosis or treatment by a healthcare professional.
HIA File CNC3526F.HTM Release 9.0/2006
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